Three honored as public health shining stars

The Northeast Colorado Health Department recently honored three people as their 2013 public health shining stars.

This was the department's sixth annual awards ceremony recognizing people throughout northeast Colorado who champion public health.

"This annual award is an opportunity for our department to acknowledge that public health really does involve the public," said Dr. Tony Cappello, NCHD's public health director.

"We work with so many individuals and agencies that foster and promote the health and well being of our communities and environments. This award is our chance to publicly recognize the efforts of others that champion public health and have a positive impact for our communities in northeast Colorado."

The honorees are nominated by health department staff.

The 2013 recipients include:

Kathy Anderson, formerly a representative with the Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment program, currently the eastern plains regional coordinator for the Reach Out and Read Colorado Program.

Her nomination reads: "We have experienced Kathy patiently explaining resources available to women, children and men for health and dental care, finances, safety concerns, parenting assistance, transportation resolutions and more over the phone or when approached in any number of community locations. She has spent countless hours sharing, teaching, prodding and bringing people young and old to better awareness of what they can do for themselves with a little or sometimes with a lot of help from community services.

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She is knowledgeable of what it means to be rural agricultural communities and has insight into the strengths and challenges of our sizeable area and has used her voice to bring that insight to the forefront."

Mark Cochran, DVM, an area veterinarian, and his entire staff at Sterling Animal Clinic.

His nomination reads: "Dr. Cochran has long been an advocate for the health and well-being of pets and their people. While routinely having a high rate of rabies vaccination in his clinic, assisting NCHD with preparing rabies specimen submissions with very little notice, and cooperating with public health needs in any situation, his clinic proved their willingness and abilities to be a public health partner when retrofitting their facility to accommodate a 90-day quarantine for five unvaccinated pets involved in an incident with a rabid skunk. More recently, they once again made all the necessary changes to the enclosures in order to provide safe quarantine for seven unvaccinated pets exposed to a rabid cat. He has the uncanny ability to see the greater good of the community and overcomes many obstacles in order to provide the utmost protection to the animals, staff and families involved."

Bill Fredregill, DVM, a 41-year accredited member of the American Animal Hospital Association, area veterinarian, and veterinarian for the Logan County Humane Society (LCHS).

His nomination reads: "Dr. Fredregill has served in various capacities within the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association. During his tenure as CVMA president, he provided a professional rural perspective while working on the development team with the state public health veterinarian and the state health department to produce the Colorado Rabies Resource Guide. In 2012 NCHD completed a total revision of the NCHD Rabies Prevention & Control Regulations. Dr. Fredregill willingly participated during the stakeholder process, attended the large six-county stakeholder meeting and offered technical assistance to the department. He advocated for the pre-exposure human rabies vaccination for animal control officers on staff at the LCHS and made it possible for NCHD to partner with LCHS as an approved high-risk pet quarantine facility. As a standard of practice he routinely screens and submits suspected specimens for rabies testing for greater surveillance and protection of public health."

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